Severe Eczema is pure hell on Earth. It is absolute torture. The amount of overwhelming physical pain I have endured over the years has been mind-blowing.

Right now, as I’m writing this, I’m in the midst of recovering from a pretty painful, more severe level of flare up. I have been sick since the night of April 30, 2017, but the symptoms of the flare-up started on April 23, 2017.

I went to the doctor on the morning of May 1, 2017 for a short appointment to seek help on what could have caused my flare-up, figure out what manifested on my skin and to get blood work done.

The rash pattern on my skin that first appeared on my skin on April 23, looked like very small bumps, almost micro-pimples. It covered my lower back at the start and spread. It was not a normal rash pattern and it scared the shit out of me because it had certain characteristics that reminded me of when I had full body skin infections from my Eczema.

To make a long story short, I have been covered in that painful rash comprised of the micro-pimples and the normal looking rash from my the cheek bones on my face down to the calve muscles on my legs! I have been in a lot of pain and discomfort. I have been bed ridden since May 1st, and only started to hobble around yesterday because my mobility has been restricted from the raw, swollen, scabbed skin. I had swelling in my eyelids and both my ears (I’ve never had swollen ears before, lol! That was unusual). I have been unable to go to work this week so far.

I’ve only been able to tolerate very loose fitting clothing while at home. Bathing is like putting battery acid on my skin, so that was hard and took me days to psych myself up to do (I also had difficulty moving normally, so that was a key factor that effected​ me).

This eczema episode really frustrated me and scared me because I have made SO MANY lifestyle improvements over the last 9 years especially, specifically in order to improve my Eczema and quality of life: I do not drink alcohol, don’t do any drugs, no smoking of anything ever, I’m a plant-based vegetarian (I do not eat any meat), I’m gluten-free, dairy-free, corn-free, soy-free, I wear natural fibres, watch the laundry detergent/toothpaste/deodorant I use, and so much more! – I’m so flabbergasted and humbled by this experience.

I know eczema is multifactorial. Stress is a factor. Happiness levels are a factor. Nutrient intake is a factor. Workplace happiness is a factor. There’s so many more factors.

It’s extremely humbling and scary to try SO hard to eliminate things from your life in an effort to heal yourself, and it does calm down your body​. Then, out of the blue, your body gets pissed-off and your eczema decides to flying dropkick you in the face and knock you out like Mike Tyson.

This week reminded me to be thankful for how far I have come on my health journey. I have not had a flare up like this in years. I’m reminded of the long periods of how sick I used to be and how strong I was to endure such extreme pain, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually too. I used to be really sick and looking back, I have no clue how the hell I even survived it. I will overcome this soon and rise again, but I’m very humbled by this. Life can change for better or for worse in the blink of an eye.

Always be thankful for your health. Value it. Without your health you have NOTHING, you cannot do much. You cannot enjoy life.

And, wherever you are in life, be thankful​ for all the progress you have made in your journey because you have come a long way. Be thankful that where you are now, is no longer where you used to be.